Include cancer treatment in NHIS — Dr Renner
The Consultant Paediatrician at the Children’s Department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), Dr Lorna Awo Renner, has appealed to the government to include cancer treatment in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
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According to her, about 1,000 children below 15 years were diagnosed with cancer annually and most of them lost their lives due to parents’ inability to afford treatment and medication.
She disclosed this during a programme to mark the International Childhood Cancer Day organised by the Ghana Parents’ Association for Childhood Cancer (GHAPACC) in Accra.
Christened, “Act now for Children with Cancer,” the programme was to raise awareness of parents for them to seek medical treatment for their children at the early stage of the disease.
The global estimate of new childhood cancer cases is between 175,000 and 250,000 annually with approximately 90 per cent of affected children residing in developing countries.
Dr Renner said the average cost of treatment of a child was around $600, an amount that some parents could not afford and, therefore, relied on self-medication and other socio-cultural practices, which eventually led to the death of their children.
She said the real concern was that most parents reported to health facilities with advanced cancer cases rather too late, when much could not be done.
A representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Ms Sally Ampofo, said lack of information about early signs and symptoms of childhood cancer was also a challenge leading to the death of children with cancer.
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“We must make information about early signs and symptoms of the common childhood cancers available,” she said.
Measures in place
In a speech read on his behalf, Dr Kofi Nyarko of the Ghana Health Service, said the government had put in place measures, which outlined the key strategies for the control of the major cancers in Ghana, including childhood cancers.
He said resources were, therefore, needed to raise awareness of the causes of cancer, provide regular screening for childhood cancers and promote access to appropriate management.
He said with the implementation of the national cancer strategy, no child should suffer from cancer.
Parents’ perspective
The President of the Ghana Parents Association of Childhood Cancer, Dr Felix Kwame Aveh, announced plans to build a hostel to ensure quick access to the Korle Bu hospital in case of any emergency that might arise during the course of treatment and also reduce transportation challenges of very ill patients. The hospital would accommodate 30 families and also have a counselling and support office.
“We need to act now to eradicate cancer among children,” he added.